Footballers disappointed after grenade blown up on Edgbaston football pitch

Dec 4 2009 by Kat Keogh, Birmingham Mail

DOZENS of disappointed Birmingham footballers have been left without a field to play on – after bomb squad officers blew a hole in the centre of their pitch.

An Army Bomb Disposal Unit was directed to the Portland Pavilion sports club in Edgbaston with a suspected Second World War hand grenade after it was dug up in a nearby garden.

They carried out a controlled explosion which has left a 2ft-wide crater in the club’s main pitch.

Now all this weekend’s fixtures have had to be cancelled and the Portland manager said she could be forced to close permanently because she can’t afford the repair bill.

Leaseholder Michelle Kelly fumed: “I don’t see why I should pay off my insurance, it’s not my grenade.”

All weekend games have been called off at the club, which has three pitches used by a total of 24 youth and adult football sides.

Ms Kelly branded the pitch “a nightmare” and it is not yet clear if she will have to pay for repairs.

The 41-year-old, who took over the club last October, said: “I’ll be losing £1,000 in takings from the games and from the bar this weekend and I don’t know how much it will cost to put the pitch right.

“Even if I can claim it back I don’t have the money to pay in the first place.

“But if I don’t, I will probably have to close as the football is our bread and butter.”

The hand grenade was dug up by workmen as they carried out work at a property in Stanmore Road, Edgbaston, on Monday.

A number of nearby roads were closed and residents were evacuated from their homes before the old explosive device was taken to the Portland for a controlled explosion.

Ms Kelly added she was told sandbags used by the bomb squad would be removed by Birmingham City Council the same day.

But they remained on site for three days before the Birmingham Mail stepped in and contacted the council.

A council spokesman said: “We acknowledge that there has been a delay in attending to the sandbags on site.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused and it has been attended to as an urgent priority.”

Detective Chief Inspector Alan Simmonds, crime manager at Rose Road police station, said the Portland was chosen as it was a “secluded site with a suitable exclusion zone”.

He said: “The site manager was spoken to both before and after the controlled explosion to ensure they were happy with the course of action.

“The explosion did cause minor damage to the land. We would urge the land owner to contact senior officers at Rose Road police station if they have further concerns about any damage caused and they will happily discuss the best course of action.”

An Army spokesman said: “The Army does not have the authority to turn up and carry out controlled explosions without authority from the police.

“It is the police’s responsibilty in all such situations to identify a suitable location to carry out controlled explosions.”